


Not the Jealous Type

by Skyler10



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol, Engagement, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Pete's World Torchwood, Telepathic Bond, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-07 00:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15206840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyler10/pseuds/Skyler10
Summary: A Vitex business trip/undercover Torchwood mission reveals just one way that being engaged to Rose Tyler has changed the Doctor.





	1. The Zeppelin Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this multichapter since sometime in 2015, I think, so this has been a long time in the making! Thanks to @perfectlyrose for beta reading. <3 Hope y'all enjoy this silly adventure.

Vitex CEO Pete Tyler was concerned his suppliers were up to no good. And when it came to his own business, there’s no one he trusted more than his top Torchwood agents… who also happened to be his daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law. Once he mentioned the upcoming Vitex convention was in the sunny, warm Caribbean, they took a little less convincing than he had previously anticipated. They were to represent the company, which was to be expected, but also use their presence to investigate anything suspicious or underhanded happening.

While the idea sounded divine, the reality of travel was far more stressful. The two rushed to check in to their flight and fought the crowds to their gate. On the way, Rose ducked into a shop for snacks and water bottles for the both of them while the Doctor watched their luggage. By the time Rose returned, he had apparently made a friend. A very pretty friend. Who was leaning in closer than was strictly appropriate for conversations with strangers. The tall, blonde, blue-eyed, model-thin woman walked away with a smirk in Rose’s direction, but the Doctor hardly noticed.

“That flight attendant was totally hitting on you.” Rose sighed and shook her head. “I leave for five minutes and there she is, life-sized Barbie –”

“Now, Rose, she was not.” The Doctor dismissed her concern. “Renee was only asking if we needed any assistance, which was rather handy as this is our first time in this zeppelin port. Hmm… Zepport? Zep Station?”

“Renee, huh? That her name? No wonder she reminds me so much…” Rose was muttering to herself now, still eyeing the woman who had been lightly touching her fiancé’s arm minutes before. The Doctor took the snack bag from her, stuffed it in his backpack, steered her away from the scene and onwards toward their gate.

“Reminds you of whom? Have you met many flight attendants here?” the Doctor asked over the click-click-click of their luggage wheels against the tile floor.

“Never mind,” Rose huffed and sped up her pace, determined not to let memories from a lifetime ago ruin their trip.

“Are you mad at me that I didn’t notice her flirting or at her that she came over like that?”

“Both!” she snapped, jerking her wandering suitcase with the wonky wheel back into a straight line. “No, not mad. I’m sorry. Not at you. Just… this happens all of the time.”  

“It does?” The Doctor furrowed his brow, charming her with his innocence.

Rose sighed. “Yes. Beautiful women are constantly flirting with you, right in front of me like I’m not even here!”

“Men flirt with you too,” the Doctor observed, not disclosing that that was one reason he originally wanted her wearing a shiny engagement ring. “And some women.”

“On occasion, I suppose,” Rose conceded as they reached their gate.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow to indicate this was an understatement.

“Well? And don’t you get jealous?” she prodded, trying to find some justification for her reaction.

“Nope. Not the type,” he responded casually, picking a spot for them in the waiting area far from the eyes and ears of other passengers. He collapsed into a chair facing the window where the zeppelins were taking off and patted the seat next to him, urging her to join him.  

 “Shut up. I know you,” she countered as she sat. “You are _totally_ the jealous type. Always have been, since big ears and leather.”

“Ah. Yes. Big Ears was. And I admit I have been even in this face. But not anymore.”

“And why is that?” Rose took his bait and asked, if for no other reason than curiosity at his confidence.

“Because I’m the only man in the universe who can do this.” He reached over and brushed his fingertip against the back of her hand. She inhaled sharply at the telepathic tingle of pleasure shooting through her skin as he traced around her hand before entwining his fingers with her own. As he did, the tingly sparks eased into a gentle wave of affection, traveling from his palm to her soul. Their bond was still brand new and rarely innocently used.  

“Doctor,” Rose hissed. “We’re in public!”

He just chuckled as he nuzzled her hair.

“It’s not just for the bedroom, though I admit, that is the one place I can’t control it,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s our marriage bond, Rose. The longer we are together, the more powerful the connection. As I said before, I’m still a touch telepath and, apparently, you’ve taken in enough of the time vortex to reciprocate. Once we’re married, we can sense each other’s presence, eventually even send emotions or vague concepts without touch.”

“I remember. And use it to communicate? You told me that would happen someday.”

“Ah, but it is already getting strong enough. Someday is sooner than ever, Rose. I know you can feel it too, when we touch. It’s growing faster than I expected.” He was intoxicated by it, she could tell. As much as she enjoyed the feel of it, to him it was so much more. Having a telepathic bond was like falling in love with her all over again for his Time Lord mind.

“Is _that_ why you’ve been the cat that’s got the canary lately? Caught you grinning like a nutter as you were staring out the car window, you know.”

“Perhaps. Or maybe I’m just daydreaming about my beautiful bride.”

“Oh, you.” She pecked his cheek. “You’re really never jealous?”

“Nope. Do you want me to be?”

“Maybe a little,” she admitted. “I mean, not _really_ , not like you used to be. Just like in a regular bloke way, letting other men know I’m yours and all that lot. Kinda romantic.”

“Ah, a bit possessive, you mean?” He leaned in closer. “I can be that. And selfish in how much I want you. And protective.”

“But not over-protective.” Rose rolled her eyes, remembering his past actions and all they had fought through so far in their relationship.

“No,” the Doctor assured, remembered those days (and fights) all too well. “But you should know, it’s the same the other way ‘round. Vice-a versa.”

“What is?”

“You don’t need to be jealous either. And if you need proof, just know that you, Rose Tyler, are the only one who can touch me like that too.”

“But you’re telepathic, can’t you do that –“ she nodded to their hands “– with anyone?”

 The Doctor smiled.

“Nope. Not a bond like that. Just you. Telepathy is just a tool of communication. Can’t be manipulated. It only reveals true emotions and thoughts. Or, at least, my simple version does. Others who are much more gifted than I can use it for their own ends, whatever they may be. But you got stuck with a telepath of average gift and below average skill.”

“Lucky me.” She poked him and smiled.

“Cheeky.” He poked her back.

She stuck out her tongue and turned to watch the zeppelins loading and unloading passengers.  

“What you said earlier, about the flight attendant reminding you…” He suddenly fell serious. “You should know, it’s only ever been you. Since we first met. Even while we were apart. No one, neither flight attendant nor French courtesan, could ever tempt my heart away from you. It’s not that I really don’t know they are flirting. It’s that I don’t care. Because you, Rose, you are the only one who matters.”

“I love you too, Doctor.” She laid her head on his shoulder and knew he understood that all was well between them.

She had forgiven him for the situation with Reinette a long time ago, and she knew she had nothing to worry about now. Still, she felt as if he was issuing a challenge of sorts. And she would rise to it. If he wasn’t going to get jealous, then she wouldn’t either.

He traced the swirls and circles of his native tongue on her palm as they sat in silence until their boarding group was called.

Once on board the zeppelin, Rose found their seats as he loaded their luggage into the storage bins a short distance away.

“G’day, gorgeous.” An Australian with floppy dark curls leaned over the seat in front of Rose. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t have to sit alone for such a long flight. Mind if-“

“She’s _not_ alone,” the Doctor growled and took his seat, putting an arm around her.

“Alright, mate.” Surfer Boy backed away. “Just wanted to make sure the seat wasn’t taken.”

“It is taken. And so is she.”

Surfer Boy took one look at the Oncoming Storm and headed further down the aisle.

“Bet his ticket isn’t even first class,” Rose giggled to her fiancé. Theirs wouldn’t have been either if Pete hadn’t insisted that no heiress of his need ride in coach.

“How did I do?” The Doctor beamed like a puppy eager to be rewarded.

“Brilliantly,” Rose acknowledged with a laugh. “He’ll be terrified to pull anyone for days.”

“Hmph. Hours, perhaps.”

He removed his arm from around her shoulder and tucked into their bag of snacks as the zeppelin began takeoff.


	2. UnConventional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Tentoo meet the Vitex team.

The first night of the convention kicked off with a mixer at a local club. Rose and the Doctor decided to pop in for a bit, have a few drinks and feel out the atmosphere. As they recalled Captain Jack once saying, “A few drinks are worth a hundred interrogation rooms.”

Sadly, this was not that kind of investigation, as everyone was here to forget they were _not_ , in fact, on vacation and _were_ actually supposed to be working. The Doctor went to the bar to place their drink order as Rose sought out seats. All she found was a high table with two bar stools, but it would do. A couple in a nearby booth snogged with roaming hands so she was incredibly grateful for the visual shield when a fit bloke blocked her view of the overly affectionate man pulling the overly affectionate woman onto his lap.

“So I was just wondering, you a copper?” the fit bloke addressed Rose with a drunken slur.

“What?” Rose had gotten distracted, but her training kicked back into gear as adrenaline shot through her.

“Because, baby, you’ve got fine written all over you.” He winked and realized she wasn’t laughing. “You know, fine? Like a… never mind. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Perry.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the PDA Pair (as Rose had begun calling them in her head) “That is Mindy and Troy. We work in the Leeds division. You?”

She ignored his ending question. “They are… really into each other.”

Perry laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, they act like they’re some sort of secret lovers or something.” He shook his head.

“Well, whatever makes ‘em happy,” Rose reasoned. She was just about to begin the casual questioning she had prepared for anyone she might strike up a conversation with, but he resumed his advances.

“Kinda uncomfortable for the rest of us though, at least when they act like that. You understand why I didn’t care to stick around.”

“Yeah, so you got no one to do that with then?” Rose was trying to find out enough information to put together a rough profile of the Leeds team for their investigation, but he took it as an invitation.

“No, actually. Just me. You here alone, too? You know, if you want, we can show Mindy and Troy how it’s really done. Nothing stopping us from a little fun. What happens at Vitex conventions stays here, right?” He winked again as he leaned closer over her.

“Ah. Sorry, I’m afraid my date might disagree with you on that one.” Rose leaned back away from him and lifted her left hand from her lap to the table to show him her ring. However, Perry was still watching Mindy and Troy so he didn’t seem to notice. Rose peeked around him to the Doctor who was still standing in line at the bar. He caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow to silently say _“You ok?”_

She just smiled and gave him a flirty wave that meant _“Fine, but do hurry up.”_

Before the Doctor could find a way to mime that he couldn’t do much to hurry when he wasn’t the one serving the drinks, Perry turned around to see the bespectacled skinny bloke she was waving at.

“Aw, _you’re_ hookin’ up with _him_?” Perry asked, incredulous. “Really, that’s your pull for the night? The geek in a suit? You can do so much better than that. I know lab rats like him at first sight. Lemme guess, he’s been goin’ on about his Ph.D all evenin’ and says …”

“Perry!” Mindy exclaimed with a cackle as she came to stand by him. “How pissed are you? Do you have any idea who you’re trying to pull?”

Rose couldn’t hold back a small smile as Mindy died laughing at her friend, while with a lazy, drunk Troy wrapped his arm around her side.

“Actually, you’re not too far off with the Ph.D bit,” Rose revealed, cover about to be blown right off by Mindy anyway. “He’s called the Doctor and-”

“Oh bloody ‘ell! You’re Rose Tyler!” Perry finished for her. The poor lad was white as a sheet, recalling all of the things he had said to the CEO’s daughter. The CEO’s very engaged-to-be-married daughter.

As if summoned, the Doctor bounced over, somehow managing not to spill either of their drinks in the process. Rose noted that as normal as he seemed, he stood next to her instead of taking his seat across the table.

“Hallo, love! And who might these new friends be?”

Perry stood frozen, as if he wasn’t sure which was the better option: stay and pretend he wasn’t hitting on the company’s heiress in front of her genius fiancé or run for his life.

 “I believe it’s Mindy and Troy, right?” Rose introduced, as it was clear Perry was having a hard time finding words. “I’m Rose Tyler.”

Mindy shook Rose’s outstretched hand and grinned. “Oh, I know. Loved that dress at the investors’ ball, by the way.”

“Oh, thanks. Were you at the ball? Did you see the Paris division at dinner?” Rose giggled.

“They were so indignant about the soup!” The Doctor provided for the glassy-eyed Troy and baffled Perry.

“And then when the dog-!” Rose snorted.

“Ah, now THAT was a Vitex gathering,” the Doctor finished.

“Yeah, no, I wasn’t there, but now I’m wishing I would have been,” Mindy laughed along with them. “Actually it was in the company magazine.”

Rose groaned.

“Oh, no worries,” Mindy rushed to assure her. “It was a great photo.”

“Of course it was!” The Doctor kissed Rose’s temple, then snuck an arm around her protectively as he shot a glare in Perry’s direction for good measure.

“Well, thank you. It was a lovely night,” Rose accepted the compliment gracefully. “Perry here was telling me you all are from the Leeds division?”

“Actually, I’m just gonna…” Perry nodded to the exit.

Mindy cleared her throat and suddenly the chain of command at the Leeds division became clear as Perry slunk back to the group.

“I’m so sorry,” he addressed Rose. “Truly had no idea. I swear!” He held up his hands and turned to the Doctor in trepidation.

“It’s alright,” Rose replied. “Just believe a girl when she says she’s taken, yeah?”

“And check her ring!” Mindy whacked Perry on the shoulder before bending to examining it herself. “It’s gorgeous! I’ve never seen one like it. What are the tiny swirly circles?”

“Oh, those?” the Doctor pretended nonchalance. “Just some ancient… runes.”

“That’s so romantic!” Mindy checked over her shoulder to see if Troy was paying attention, but he was watching the football game on telly above the bar. She sighed and returned her attention to Rose. “What do they mean?”

“One’s my name, one’s the Doctor’s.” Rose pointed to the sides of her ring as she explained. “Then this one’s like…” She scrunched up her nose, trying to explain it exactly the way he had translated it for her.

“Yours eternally, adoration undying,” the Doctor supplied with a poetic air. “Literally translated, that is.”

Rose grinned up at him.

“Forever, in other words.”  

“Forever,” he confirmed with a peck to her cheek.

Rose took her revenge on the overly affectionate couple and seized the opportunity to kiss him in public while he was so close.

“Oi, they’re worse than us,” Mindy teased, poking Troy into attention.

“Hey, Perry?” Troy spoke up. “That girl over there’s been staring at you all night. Isn’t that Tina from York?”

“Tina, that’s right!” Perry perked up. “Maybe I have a date tonight after all. Thanks, mate. G’night, Mindy. Doctor. Rose.” He turned to go but hesitated. “Are you… You aren’t gonna tell your dad about this, right?”

He was quickly turning a bright shade of pink as the impact of her response weighed on him.

“Well…” Rose debated whether it was worth a laugh at a family dinner. “Nah, I suppose not.”

“Thank you.” Perry exhaled and apologized again before sauntering over to safe and familiar territory.

“Perrywinkle!”

“Tinanator!”

Mindy shrugged as Rose and the Doctor blinked in surprise at the nicknames.

“It’s a thing we do when we come to these things,” she explained. “Like a big bonkers family reunion. Strictly business all day, then fun all night. Even the accountants have been known to bunny hop. We all go home to our separate lives but catch up once a year.”

“You know, it’s funny. I’ve never thought much about these events, how everyone has been here doing this for so long.” Rose contemplated, placing her elbow on the table and chin in her upturned palm.

“Well, you’ve been busy with other… aspects… of the family business,” the Doctor reasoned.

“Yeah, why haven’t you been to Vitex stuff outside London before, Rose? You’d obviously receive a friendly welcome anytime. Perhaps a little too friendly, even,” Mindy teased at Perry’s expense in his absence.

“Ah. Well, you know, the Doctor and I were traveling for a bit and then I was finishing my education,” Rose explained with their pre-planned story. Education was always their code word for the dimension cannon. “And like the Doctor said, I’m still just learning my way ‘round, I suppose.”

“We’re just glad you’re here now,” Troy added, surprising everyone that he was still listening. He turned to Mindy. “Wanna dance, babe? We’ve bothered Miss Tyler and the Doc long enough.”

“Oh, alright, if we _have_ to dance to our favorite song,” Mindy feigned exasperation and grabbed her date’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you both.” She gave a little bow of her head to each of them and pulled Troy onto the dance floor. Soon they were gyrating and grinding with the best of them.

“Predictable,” Rose assessed as the Doctor moved around the table to take his seat.

“In what way?” the Doctor raised his glass to his lips and took a sip. “Nothing about that encounter was what I predicted for our night.”

“No, I meant them dancing all…” Rose gestured to the dirty dancing as she searched for a respectable word for their physicality.

“I never would have thought I’d see the day.”

“What?”

“Rose Tyler, a prude.”

“I’m not! You didn’t see them earlier. Look!”

“You don’t seem to have any problems with PDA when it comes to us.”

“That’s different.” Rose blushed. “We were apart for years and now we’re engaged and…”

“They’re married.” The Doctor took another casual drink of his beer.

“What? Perry said it was like a secret or something… Oh. No wait, he said they _act_ like it’s a secret relationship. Not that it is. Anyway, they’re together here, obviously, but how do you know they’re married? They weren’t wearing rings. Didn’t even catch their last names.”

“I did my research,” he boasted. “ _Mindy_ is Imelda Donner, division supervisor, accompanied by former marketing executive Troy Donner, now leading the largest athletic advertising firm in the nation. Perriman Roberts, climbing the Vitex ladder since university days, is currently Mindy’s top sales director.”

“He certainly knows how to offer a deal,” Rose quipped.

“He wasn’t inappropriate, was he?” The Doctor let the sexy specs slide a little down his nose. She shook her head and took the glasses off his face.

“Not nearly as dirty as your lenses. How do you see out of these things?” She took the handkerchief from his suit’s breast pocket and rubbed away the smudges before carefully placing them back over his ears.

He beamed at her with some of that undying adoration he spoke of earlier when translating the Gallifreyan on her ring.

“What?” she finally asked, mirroring his infectious happiness simply because it was his.

“We are an old married couple.”

“And how do you reckon that, seeing as we’ve still got months of wedding planning to do?”

“What you did just then. That was so…”

“Domestic?”

“Wife-like,” he corrected.

“And that’s… good?” She guessed again, this time from the pride written all over him.

“Oh yes.”

“Dance with me?” She stood and took his hand.

“The way Troy dances with Mindy?” He looked over the sexy specs again, this time because he knew it turned her on.

“That’s up to you,” she retorted and tugged on his hand. “But I wouldn’t object.”

He hopped off his barstool and bounded to the dance floor. “C’mon then, we have moves to show off.”

As their luck would have it, the steamy beat of the Latin music faded into the distinctive sounds of the Macarena as soon as they hit the dance floor. Rose watched her part-alien as he tried to master the moves everyone else had known for decades. She hadn’t laughed that hard in a long while.   


	3. There Be Aliens, Matey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of meetings tests the Doctor's attention span, but the party that night holds valuable information for their case!

Their purpose in coming – finding information about a potential corrupt link in the supply chain – faded into the background as the first full day of meetings dragged on. By lunch, the Doctor was over it.

“Rose. They never. Stop. Talking.” He plopped into the chair next to her with their sandwiches in hand. “I mean, I’ve got quite the gob, but did you know people could BE that boring?”

“Hush, they might be sitting near us!”

“Seriously, love, there has to be another way to find this scoundrel.”  

She thought for a second as she unwrapped her lunch.

“You know, I sat next to the Leeds team at the panel on ROI analytics markers.”

“I hate that I know what that means,” he moaned.

“I think they know more than they are letting on. It may have been Perry’s honest mistake that we met, but it wasn’t Mindy’s. She knew us.”

“Of course she did. Everyone knows you.”

“No, she mentioned something today… what was it? Oh! I said there were a lot of interesting people here…”

“Generous of you.”

“And she said, ‘but you must meet much more interesting people in your line of work.’ I asked her what she meant by it, but the presentation started and I didn’t have a chance after.”

“That’s something. Though she could just mean life as an _heiress_ ,” he teased with an affected posh accent on the last word.

“Shut up.” She whacked him playfully on the arm. “C’mon, just trust me on this.”

“Starting to sound like your dad.” The Doctor winked and gave her a thumbs up in imitation of the old Vitex ad.

Rose rolled her eyes and face-palmed at her mistake. That phrase was forever banned in their family, but she still slipped up every now and then.

“So we’ll talk to Mindy. But how?” she mused aloud. “Can’t exactly walk up to them and say ‘know of any bad guys?’ That’ll out us as spies for sure. I’m positive me being here is already a red flag.”

“Maybe if they know something, they’ll come to us.” The Doctor licked potato crisp residue off his fingers one by one.

“That doesn’t sound like you. Sit back and wait?”

“No, no. No sitting back. Might fall asleep, as dull as this place is. And certainly no waiting. Well, maybe a little waiting. But in the meantime, I say we go with the domestic approach.”

“Talking to people?” Rose surveyed the room without making it obvious.

“That’s right! And hear other people talking to people. If this is as large of an operation as Pete thinks it is, there are bound to be some shady monetary exchanges being discussed.”

“We’re talking high-level corporate fraud, not a drug bust!” she hissed.

“Still…”

“Oh, alright. I don’t have anything else. No idea what Dad wanted us to be on the lookout for anyway. We don’t even have a physical description or a reason they are doing it or… anything.”

“Well, considering there are thousands of pounds involved per month, I think we can safely add greed to our list of possible motives.”

Before she could reply, Mindy approached their table.

“Hey, are you two coming tonight? We’re meeting on this old ship. Theme inspired by Rose, of course.”

“What? What did I do?”

“Remember that delightfully witty comment you made this morning about the region six profits director with an eye patch who got handsy with all his female coworkers?”

“He does, does he?” The Doctor growled and looked around for the director, as if he would be able to recognize him at a glance.

“Down boy,” Rose soothed. “He was fired last month. He’s not here.”

“Yep, but it got us thinking…” Mindy hinted.

“Oh no, you can’t be serious.”  

“Oh! Oh!” The Doctor caught on. “It’s on a ship? It’s a pirate party! Tell me it’s a pirate party. But what was the joke about the handsy… ROSE! You made a booty joke? I revoke your prude status.”

“Thank you,” she deadpanned.

“Do I want to know what that last bit was about?” Mindy laughed.

Rose blushed and kicked the Doctor under the table for bringing it up in front of one half of the PDA Pair.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Alright.” Mindy winked, obviously assuming it was far dirtier of an inside joke than it was.

Rose blushed again and stood, gathering their empty wrappers.

“Hey Mindy, would you and Perry want to sit with us at the next meeting?”

“Sure. I’m going to check in with Troy first.” She raised her mobile in explanation. “But save me a seat, yeah?”

 

* * *

 

 

That evening in their hotel room, Rose tried to deny that she had inspired the pirate party.  

 “I just made a joke! That was all!” She called to the Doctor over the noise of her shower.

“You made a booty joke, Rose. That will always end in a pirate theme.”

“On what planet?! Wait, don’t answer that.”

Rose scowled at him as she climbed out of the shower, but he continued styling his hair until it was perfectly sticky-uppy. He primped more than usual, using it as an excuse to sneak peeks as she dressed. Rose caught him “appreciating” her form and chunked her towel at him. He caught it entirely too reflexively, proving her right.

“Why are you so opposed to pirates anyway? Did you discover a treasure map that led to no treasure? Insulted by a talking parrot? Get in a sword fight with a ship captain?” The Doctor inquired.

“I believe that was last bit was you,” Rose retorted.

“And here we are. Never more grateful to lose an appendage. Or to _be_ a lost appendage for that matter.”

“Have I mentioned how mad our lives would sound to anyone who knew the truth?”

“Not so far today.” The Doctor drew a now-fully dressed Rose in for a kiss. He sent a wave of desire through their bond, and she deepened it before pulling back.

“We’ll be late if you keep that up,” she scolded without much conviction. He loosened his hold on her but didn’t let go completely.

“I thought I would get used to how lucky we are, but I don’t suppose I ever will,” he flirted.

“Mad and lucky and running late. That’s us.”

“Among many things.” He kissed her a final time and left her in the en suite to find the plastic pirate sword and hat he purchased on their walk before dinner.

 

* * *

 

The music on the pirate ship was loud and many of the costumes included masks, so the Doctor wrote off this night early on as a bust on the investigative efforts. He was proven wrong, however, as he stood back watching Rose engage the Welsh division in shouted conversation. She sparkled at the “domestic approach,” as in everything she did, and he lost himself for a minute in admiration. He was pulled back to reality as he was jostled by a female incarnation of Captain Hook – complete with red overcoat and feathered hat – surrounded by mermaids. Venetian masks hid their identities, not that he would have recognized them anyway. He did track their movements, however, watching as they disappeared behind a sail. He stuck his hands in his pockets and casually wandered over to the party side of the sail. The lighting of the party and thickness of the fabric meant his outline would not be detectable from the other side, giving him the perfect opportunity for eavesdropping with his Time Lord hearing.

“The deal is done then?” the captain whispered to a mermaid.

“The council wants more. It will take triple the amount of Vitex to fuel the device if it is ever to be used to get us back to the prime world.”

“Then we’ll have to work harder then, won’t we?!” A slap sounded and a mermaid cried out.

“And what of the idiot human?” another mermaid asked.

“Ah. My dear Perry has no idea he’s been aiding us in our time of need,” the captain snickered. “Nor do the accountants or supply managers. It’s lucky for us that Tyler trusts his employees and they trust each other. No one even suspects the shipments are going off-world.”

“But Tina,” the mermaid who had been slapped spoke up with a tremble in her voice, “what about the heiress. You know what she is. What she could do to us.”

“Leave the agent to me. She’s too dangerous for one of you to muck this up.”

The Doctor beamed in pride. His Rose was respected across species. These women – including poor Perry’s “Tina” – were not human, that much was clear. And the talk of building a Vitex-fueled traveling machine was unexpected, to say the least, but they feared Rose. That was a start.

The women returned to the party, ending his information gathering. The crowd was thinning out, thanks to early meetings in the morning. Time to find his “dangerous” fiancée and share what they each had found out.

Unfortunately, Rose hadn’t learned much at the pirate party besides potential ways the scam could have happened. She left even more bored by financial and production babble than she was by the meetings during the day. She had spent the entire evening listening to costumed accountants and managers and regional directors comparing notes about sketchy things that they had noticed in their work. Chunks of money mislabeled in the record books, unverifiable addresses, shipments that left warehouses without a clear destination. As the Vitex employees ranted and rambled, she tried to piece together enough information to form a larger picture. Clearly, Pete was right to be suspicious that it was happening, but who was stealing large quantities of not only money but Vitex drinks… and why?

Later that night, the Doctor shared what he had discovered about Tina and her fishy friends. Together, they began to form a plan. With the help of the Leeds team, they might be able to pull it off.


	4. Disco Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild last night of the convention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short, but this is just a bridge to a much longer and intense last chapter!

Another day of boring meetings went by. It had finally ended, however.

The Doctor counted up the score of ’70s night so far: It was the last party of the convention. There was no sign of Tina anywhere. The disco music was provided by a subpar cover band. And he was out of his frankly impressive Time Lord mind with nervous energy. If they had to stick it out at this party before getting to the real fun tomorrow – saving the world, even if it was just from health drink fraud – they might as well enjoy themselves tonight.

“Pick your poison!” He gestured to the cocktail array in front of them.

“Mmm… strawberry banana daiquiri,” replied Rose as she swished the short skirt of her glittering dress.

“Excellent choice, my love.” He planted a kiss on her head before reaching out for a daiquiri for each of them.

“Sir, these are freshly made!” A dapper waiter thrust two drinks into the Doctor’s hands and smiled. Rose noticed the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and she remembered what it was like to be on the serving staff at her parallel parents’ party the first time they landed in this universe. Poor chap. Rose hoped he was being well compensated. She turned back to the Doctor as she took the first sip of her drink, missing the way the waiter’s smile twisted into something more sinister.

Several dances and another round of drinks later, the Doctor was properly pissed with Rose right behind him. Something in her mind whispered that one and a half daiquiris shouldn’t affect her so strongly. Come to think of it, it was usually impossible to get him more than a little buzzed with his remaining Time Lord biology getting in the way. Something was wrong here. But her heart found that hard to believe as her gorgeous Doctor was sweeping her up in a dance with hands roaming where they rarely ventured in public.

Wait. _Think, Rose,_ she scolded herself. Yes. They were in public. In public… at a Vitex convention. Trouble. There had been trouble with a capital T. Tina. They were supposed to be keeping a lookout for the fraud suspect.

“Doctor!” Rose stopped their mad twirling and fought back against the nauseating slosh of alcohol in her stomach.

“Ooo, I’m quite dizzy. Still not used to that. So humany, dizziness.”

“Doctor, we’re supposed to be working.” Her reproach proved ineffective as he nuzzled her hair and kissed her ear. To be fair, they had been on the lookout for an hour before drinks and hadn’t seen a single hint of Tina.

“Work time? On the contrary. This is a party! A party is play time. Would you like to play with me, Rose Tyler?” He waggled his eyebrows, but his attempt at seduction fell flat as he hiccupped. This sent her into a fit of giggles that came out louder than she intended.

“You’re drunk!” she declared. “C’mon, let’s get some air.”

“And some shots?”

“Or coffee,” she sighed.

“Clever, clever Rose. And we will get this… this chemical out of our systemsssss and regroup! Refocus our efforts! Return to the task at hand.”

She shook her head at his exuberance.

“I’ll get my purse from the coatroom. You…” She pointed a wobbly finger at him. “Stay right there.”

He grinned and winked.

“Won’t move a muscle.”

Rose sauntered off, giving her hips a little wiggle to tease him. Really, what were the chances an evil plan was hatching at a ’70s-themed party, anyway? They might as well just go back to their room and enjoy their last night here. She planned it all out as she handed the attendant her ticket and received her purse in exchange. She would retrieve her Doctor from the dance and show him just how much she appreciated those tight trousers.  

Instead, it would be half an hour before she saw him again. Before her head cleared enough to use their bond. Before she found him zip tied in a hotel storage room. Before she realized he was being used as bait. In a trap set for her.

 

* * *

 

It was a truly lucky thing they had already been working on their bond. Who knows how long it would have been until she found him otherwise. Of course, his captor wanted him to be found, but only by her.

Rose called to him in her mind. They weren’t able to communicate in full words or thoughts yet, but she could sense his presence. Down a floor, to the left, down again, down through the kitchens, into the storage areas of the beachside resort.

The air was more humid here than England, and it was hotter, of course. More so than nearly anywhere she spent much time. Combined with the buzz of the cocktails in her veins, she was struggling as she ran. She stopped for a breath and finally felt the reassuring tingle of the Doctor’s mind close by. He had been knocked unconscious but was waking up. He had been drugged, she assumed from the haze in their bond, but wasn’t seriously hurt—at least, not yet. She could still reach him, though. She took that as a good sign and continued on. Despite her fear and concern for him, it almost made her laugh to think of how ignorant this enemy must be. If the walls between universes couldn’t keep her and the Doctor apart, surely no evil plan at a Vitex convention would prove too much for them!


	5. Promising Leeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tentoo and Rose win the day with the help of some friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!

_The air was more humid here than England, and it was hotter, of course. More so than nearly anywhere she spent much time. Combined with the buzz of the cocktails in her veins, she was struggling as she ran. She stopped for a breath and finally felt the reassuring tingle of the Doctor’s mind close by. He had been knocked unconscious but was waking up. He had been drugged, she assumed from the haze in their bond, but wasn’t seriously hurt—at least, not yet. She could still reach him, though. She took that as a good sign and continued on. Despite her fear and concern for him, it almost made her laugh to think of how ignorant this enemy must be. If the walls between universes couldn’t keep her and the Doctor apart, surely no evil plan at a Vitex convention would prove too much for them!_

* * *

Just as Tina had him firmly secured against the metal shelving, a bang woke him from his drug-induced stupor.

“Take your hands off my fiancé!”

Rose burst into the hotel’s large storage warehouse with her Torchwood-issued blaster raised. She darted a quick concerned glance at the Doctor who smiled sheepishly. Maybe the “pick your poison” metaphor had been a little too on-point.

“Oh, precious. The damsel here to rescue her prince,” Tina cooed. “Did you enjoy your cocktail? Your lover here certainly did. Kept mumbling your name.”

 She hardened her expression and raised her chin in assessment of Rose. “Agent, heiress, spy, bride… so many titles. There’s another that always intrigued me though. Bad Wolf?”

This stunned Rose into lowering her gun a bit, ferocity shifting into cautious curiosity.

“Yes, Rose Tyler. I know what you are.” Tina advanced on her. Rose found herself lowering her gun despite every instinct demanding she fire it. Soon Tina was within arm’s reach. “I know your secrets. I know your past. I know who suffers if I do THIS.”

Tina pressed her long fingernail to Rose’s temple. Both Rose and the Doctor shouted in pain.

“Stop!” The Doctor commanded, shocked back into coherency. “Stop it now! Whatever you want with me, she isn’t part of the deal.”

“Oh, but she very much is, Time Lord.” Tina pouted out her lower lip. “She’s the key, you know. I have to have her assurance that none of this gets back to Daddy.”

“And why would I do that?” Rose demanded.

Tina turned on her heel and considered the Doctor as if he were for sale at an art show. Before Rose could make any move to stop her, Tina was dragging her nail across the Doctor’s temple. The Doctor screamed in anguish and slumped against his restraints but remained conscious. Rose crumpled to the ground and gritted her teeth, but used her telepathic training to fight back. It was obvious Tina’s drugs had taken away his mental barriers, but she could protect them both if she just…

“You see? I think I’ve made my point. We all have secrets, Miss Tyler. Even your Doctor.”

Rose didn’t dignify this with a response beyond standing in defiance.

“You think you know him, do you?” Tina continued. “I hate to burst your bubble of fairytale bliss, but you should know something that I know if you’re going to spend the rest of your pathetic little life with him. That is, if I don’t evaporate him first.”

Tina played with a shiny black gun in her hand while she contemplated this option for a minute, giving Rose time to defend herself. She clicked the safety off her blaster and fired. Tina smirked and shook her head as the ray bounced off her body.

“Really? THIS is the Bad Wolf? I thought you only took the best, Doctor. I’m disappointed.”

While Tina’s attention was turned to her prisoner, Rose took the opportunity to creep closer to him. Tina cut her off before she could get far, however, stepping within inches of her body. The taller alien woman stared threateningly down at Rose without blinking before suddenly relaxing into a confident nonchalance.

“I suppose you’ve heard of him boast of the Great Victorious Time War? Has your hero here regaled you with how his kind blasted planets out of the sky in their quest for endless power? Planets like MINE?!”

Rose stayed silent, concentrating instead on telepathically soothing the Doctor’s mental and physical wounds as best she knew how. Tina caught the Doctor’s despondent expression, however.

“Answer me!” Tina’s demand echoed through the storage area.

“She knows,” the Doctor croaked out. “But how do you?”

 “Secret for a secret?” Tina raised an eyebrow, and Rose understood she was offering a deal. “I escaped. I fell through the void, tumbling down, oopsy-daisy into this miserable universe. Why did you think I need all that Vitex money? Big house in the south of France? No, Time Lord. I’m getting back. And with Pete Tyler’s little ‘tonic’ drink, I have the fuel to get there.”

“You can’t. I sealed those walls myself. I’m sorry, but it won’t happen.”

“And yet, here you are. Conveniently on hand to unseal them.”

“That’s not how it works!” Rose defended.

“No, wait.” The Doctor pursed his lips and nodded. “Maybe she has a point.”

It took Rose a second with the alcohol in her system, but she caught his mental wave of assurance. The little twinkle in his eye told her this was all part of his plan. And she knew her role well.

“Don’t do it, Doctor!” It was so much like a cheesy movie, Rose almost giggled despite the danger they were in.

“We have no choice, Rose. I simply must let her do this.”

Luckily, Tina was too blinded by arrogance to notice that Rose was not biting her lip in worry, but to hide a smile.

“Tell me how to open the rift,” Tina demanded. “Tell me and I’ll let you live.”

Rose wondered whether this woman had read one too many comic books.

“Weeeelll, I doubt you’d understand it,” the Doctor boasted. “Honestly, it would be much faster if you’d just let me do it myself.”

“And let you escape? I think not.”

“Oh, but what makes you think we’d escape? To stay _here_? I’ve still no idea how you did it in the first place, but you saw what we left behind. You know the life we led in the other universe. All of time and space… Turns out it’s harder than we thought to give that up.”

“It’s true,” Rose sighed. “How _can_ we do domestic after traveling like that? No, we want to get back ourselves. We just haven’t had the opportunity. But if you let us help you, we can do it together.”

In a moment that warmed Rose’s heart, a wave of reassurance that this was all an act crossed between them simultaneously. They were equally worried the other would read a note of truth into the escape plan. But they knew what they had here and that they would never give it up, even if they could get back.

“Thomas!” The cocktail waiter appeared at his mistress’ command. “Arrange passage back to home base. We have a science experiment to complete.”

At the flick of her black metal device, the zip ties on the Doctor’s wrists unclicked from the shelving and rebound themselves, freeing him to walk, but with no use of his arms. Another smirk from Tina and flick of her device, and Rose flinched as her own wrists were tightly bound.

“Was that really necessary? We’ve told you we’re going to help,” Rose grumbled.

“Hm, you don’t fool me, Bad Wolf. Your weapons may be useless against me, but I know what you’re capable of.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Rose noticed out of the corner of her eye that the Doctor was trying and failing to hide a proud smile.

“Come this way,” Tina commanded. Two huge uniformed hotel security guards emerged from the shadows and shoved them through the open door of an empty shipping crate. “This will be your accommodations for the trip. Hope they are satisfactory. If not, do fill out the comment card so we can improve your stay. Hope you sleep well. See you two bright and early in the morning!”

The alien woman cackled as the guards slammed the crate’s door shut. The receding clack of heels and stomp of boots told them they were left alone in the storage room.

“Well. That was easier than it could have been,” the Doctor remarked. Though Rose couldn’t see the pleased look on his face in the pitch dark of the shipping container, she could picture it clearly.

“And I suppose that means this is all according to plan?”

“Rose Tyler! You know me better than that. Me? Plan? Honestly. If you could, though, just check my right trouser pocket.”

She did so despite her bound wrists and nearly jumped for joy at the cold metal tube she found there. She couldn’t resist.

“Ooo Doctor, is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

The Doctor groaned but laughed. “That… That was bad.”

“Who knows? Maybe that’s my middle name. Bad Innuendo Wolf,” she joked, still unable to shake Tina’s knowledge of her.

“Just sonic us out of these ties. Plenty of time for your flirting later.” His wink was more mentally felt than physically seen, but she caught it anyway.

“Freedom coming right up.” She found the right setting in the dark through many years of experience and muscle memory.

Three rounds of buzzing and blue glowing later, they were running in the direction in which their captors’ footsteps had faded.

They ducked around a concrete corner and the Doctor stopped her with an arm tight around her waist.

“What?” she whispered.

“Love the running.” He grinned, holding her close as their breathing slowed.

She shook her head at his manic expression but returned his smile.  

“Love the running,” she echoed. “And you.” She pecked a kiss to his cheek since it was so conveniently located next to her lips and peeked around the corner before wiggling out of his grasp and taking off again.

“Still got it,” he hummed. As much as this universe had changed them, they were still them. And he would never stop chasing her as she ran into danger in the name of defending the Earth.

Once they got up far enough into the main part of the hotel, Rose’s mobile was in range once more. She tried Mindy’s number as they snuck around corners.

“Shit, can’t get through. She must still be at the party,” Rose whispered to the Doctor.

“Good thing we’ve got time then.”

“How d’ya figure? Tina’s gonna get away!”

The Doctor just grinned.

“You DO have a plan, don’t you?!”

“Well…” the Doctor drawled. “I may have been very drunk, but I did happen to place one of these on her when I woke up the first time. Before she knocked me out with the drug, that is.”

He held up a tracker bug. It was tiny, only a flashing light. When he held the sonic to it, it emitted a small beeping sound.

“Oh that is cool,” she praised. “Very James Bond.”

“Ya think?” he preened.

“You’ve got the tux and everything.” She gestured to his party outfit, which was, incidentally, inspired by a ’70s James Bond look.

The Doctor maintained his pride even as her phone rang. He sobered, though, at the frown on her face as she relayed the plan to Mindy, Troy and Perry.

“Tell them I’m sending the tracker beam to Mindy’s phone.” He flicked the sonic between the bug and Rose’s mobile as she relayed the message.

“C’mon.” Rose grabbed his hand. “They’ve got us covered.”

He nodded and they took off again, following the tracker bugs through the labyrinth of the hotel’s back staircases and hallways.

\-----------

The Leeds team was waiting for them at the top of the stairs to the alleyway, as promised, with Tina and her minions in handcuffs.

“She ran right into our trap,” Mindy bragged. “Never underestimate a gal pal. Or a flirty saleman.”

“That would be me.” Perry winked.

“Can I borrow a mobile from one of you? Mine’s doubling as a tracking device at the mo.” Rose asked. Mindy handed hers over with a nod, and Rose dialed the number she knew by heart.

“Director Tyler? It’s Agent Tyler here, reporting from the sunny shores of island life. We’ve got a catch of the day for you. Send some backup?”

Mindy laughed and turned to the Doctor. “You said she’d been busy finishing her ‘education’ and traveling, huh?”  

“Well.” The Doctor shrugged. “And maybe we track down evil aliens and help the good ones from time to time.”

Troy shook his head at how normal it all seemed to them. “Kind of jealous, a life like that. More interesting than spreadsheets and cubicles.”

Rose rang off and handed the phone back to Mindy. “You know, we could use you three, if you’d ever be interested in joining up.”

Perry, Mindy, and Troy exchanged glances. “Sounds like you encounter a fair bit of trouble day to day, hm?” Perry asked, a twinkle in his eye.

The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder. “Nah, trouble’s just the bits in between, we say.”

Rose smiled at the familiar line and dug a small card out of her purse. She handed the card to Mindy. “Seriously, think about it. All of you. And thank you.”

The Doctor echoed his thanks and they parted ways with the Leeds team, who were all contemplating whether this was the start of a new life for them or if it was better left to heroes like the Doctor and Agent Tyler. But it didn’t take long. Turns out when rightly regarded, jealousy has a flipside, a close cousin, a parallel self, you might say: Inspiration.

       

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End! Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
